Megaupload’s contention that the authorities entrapped the now-shuttered file-sharing service is “baseless,” the government said in a new court filing. From Wired:

The controversy centers on Megaupload complying with a then-secret U.S. search warrant targeting five of its users, who were running their own file-sharing service using Megaupload’s infrastructure. Eighteen months before Megaupload was indicted, Megaupload complied with the warrant and turned over a database on the 39 pirated movies detailed in the warrant that linked the files to the file-sharing service NinjaVideo, which was later indicted.

Though the feds had already begun quietly investigating Megaupload months before, in this case the government treated Megaupload as NinjaVideo’s internet service provider, and asked it to keep the NinjaVideo warrant quiet.

 Megaupload’s Entrapment Claim Is ‘Baseless,’ Feds Say